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Bleddy Pakjabi must have killed the "Captive" with him having to suppress his laughter

Why are they searching for the President on a US ship? We all know, El Presidente, a kamangandu himself, is having his 'heart condition' taken care of in Dubai and Londonistan by gyrating to kufr Bollywood songs.

New Delhi/Washington: India has given proof to United States that weapons like the US TOW-2A anti-tank guided missiles that were originally given to Pakistan to fight the Taliban, are now being used against the Indian Army.

The remnants of a missile that US sold Pakistan was recovered after a fire assault and brought to New Delhi to be shown as proof to US representatives. Pointing out Pakistan's misuse of US missiles is also part of India's policy to make Pakistan lose face in the global arena. Pakistan will deny, deny, deny !

On January 2, Pakistan’s judiciary transferred the blasphemy case against university professor Junaid Hafeez from one judge to another, the sixth time it has changed hands since his trial began. The delay in the case – it has been five years since Hafeez was first charged – is only the latest miscarriage of justice stemming from Pakistan’s abusive blasphemy law.

Hafeez, 33,was arrested on March 13, 2013 in Punjab province after a criminal case was registered accusing him of blasphemy. The charge is based on alleged comments posted on Facebook, which Hafeez denies. He has been in solitary confinement since his arrest. Blasphemy accused ( Christians, Ahmedis etc ) always languish in jail for years and years. This is the norm !

Section 295-C of Pakistan’s penal code, known as the blasphemy law, carries what is effectively a mandatory death sentence. Although there have been no executions to date, at least 18 people are currently on death row, while another 20 are serving life sentences for related offences. Hundreds have been charged under the law. The law is increasingly used to jail and prosecute people for comments made on social media.

Blasphemy suspects often find it extremely difficult to find legal representation because of threats and violence against legal counsel.

Hafeez’s case presents the government not only an opportunity to address the injustices of his trial by dropping the charges against him, but the blasphemy law more generally, by moving toward repealing it and sparing the many people whose lives the law has adversely and unfairly affected.

Pakistan is pushing for the completion of a fence along its disputed border with Afghanistan — and it wants the U.S. to help pay for it. Less than 10 per cent of the fence planned along the 2,343 kilometres of mountainous border with Afghanistan has been completed so far due to financial constraints. Even so, Pakistan Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said the barrier should be finished by the end of 2019. “It won’t cost them much,” Asif said of the U.S. in an interview on Feb. 2 in Islamabad. “The war is costing them much more.” It is a well known fact in Pakiland , that Asif is suffering from "Foot in Mouth" disease

KARACHI: Chen Zhu finished lunch last week at Karachi's China Town restaurant before driving to buy groceries opposite Zamzama Park, an upmarket area in Pakistan's financial capital close to diplomatic consulates and a Navy-fortified housing estate.

A gunman opened fire at least nine times on the 46-year-old Chinese managing director of the local unit of Shanghai-based Cosco Shipping Lines Co, which has operated in Pakistan since 1994. Chen, who was hit in the head and later died in hospital, had relinquished his usual police escort during the February 5 national holiday. Without indicating the reason for the murder, police passed the case to its counter-terrorism unit.

The incident — in one of the safest districts of the port city of 15 million people — was a reminder of the insecurity that continues to plague Pakistan. It also highlights China's increased concern as it finances more than $50 billion of infrastructure projects across its South Asian neighbor as part of President Xi Jinping's flagship Belt and Road trade route. Following the attack, Beijing called on Pakistan to take more measures to ensure safety of its nationals.

"The threat perception level will go up considerably as far as the Chinese are concerned," said Ikram Sehgal, a former military officer and chairman of Pathfinder Group, Pakistan's largest private security company. He said "it was most certainly targeted" and will dent confidence in Chinese businessmen coming to Pakistan.

At least 20,000 Chinese nationals have flocked to tap rising opportunities across Pakistan, according to a Chinese government estimate provided to Bloomberg in August, double the number in 2015. It is to be noted that for 20,000 Chinese Terroristan has assigned a 15,000 strong force to protect them!Security forces are struggling to extend protection, particularly to those, such as Chen, who fall outside the so-called official China-Pakistan Economic Corridor announced by Xi three years ago.

Pakistan's military has raised a 15,000 strong force to protect CPEC projects and has curtailed the movement of Chinese working at the sites.

'Great Instability'

Many countries along the Belt and Road "have great instability and political risks, Pakistan is one," said Wang Yiwei, director of Renmin University's Institute of International Affairs in Beijing and a former Chinese diplomat. "Chinese enterprises also need strong security companies as good as the ones in the West to protect overseas projects and personnel."

It's hard not to notice the influx. Pakistan's hotels are booming with Chinese lodgers and they've become a feature in weekend crowds at markets and Westernized shopping malls. During a recent visit by Bloomberg to an immigration department in Islamabad, Pakistani officials rushed to stamp visas in dozens of red Chinese passports. Many arrived in Pakistan after security was bolstered following multiple army operations in recent years against domestic militant groups.

'Unprecedented Situation'

Beijing has become increasingly vocal over the risks in Pakistan. In December, its embassy in Islamabad warned of imminent terror attacks on Chinese targets. That followed the Islamic State-claimed killings of two Chinese teachers in June in the restive southwestern province of Balochistan, where China is building a port.

Pakistan faces an "unprecedented situation whereby growing foreign direct investment is accompanied by a significant increase in the physical presence of foreign nationals," said Aleena Ali, a researcher at security consultancy Control Risks. "It will be challenging for security forces to maintain a secure environment for all Chinese nationals."

Meanwhile extra protection is being laid on for Chinese nationals, police said in a statement after the shooting. Police deputy inspector for Karachi south, Azad Khan, didn't respond to calls or messages seeking further comment.

Pakistan is becoming more dependent on China as relations with the U.S. have hit a low. President Donald Trump last month cut about $2 billion in military funding to Islamabad at a time when Pakistan's foreign reserves are dwindling, accusing the nuclear-armed nation of supporting terror groups while taking billions of dollars in American aid.

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has amended the Anti-Terrorism Act and the president of Pakistan has issued an ordinance for this amendment.

The amendment has been brought to declare as terrorist the organisations that have been declared as such by the United Nations Security Council. Now the government will be able to take action against these organisations with this amendment.

After approval by the president, the Law Ministry has issued the ordinance which has added an article in the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997. The ordinance was to be issued because the National Assembly and the Senate were not in session.

It may be mentioned that a special team of the United Nations Security Council visited the country last month to see the progress made on sanctions placed on Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), Falah-i-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF) and other proscribed organisations.

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) had also issued a notification saying that all companies have been prohibited from "donating cash to the entities and individuals listed under the UNSC sanctions committee’s consolidated list".

The UNSC sanctions list includes the names of al-Qaeda, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, JuD, FiF, Lashkar-e-Taiba and other organisations and individuals.

^^Another eyewash. Why was it done via an Ordinance instead via their parliament? If their ordinance also works like our, and I think it does, we know where this will end in 6 months. This ordinance will automatically lapse.

In a major development ahead of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) meeting in Paris early next week, reports have emerged that Pakistan has placed 26/11 Mumbai attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed’s Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) on the list of proscribed groups.

According to PTI, Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain signed an ordinance last Friday, aimed at reining in individuals and organisations that have been banned by the United Nations Security Council. The development was made public Monday. Last month, the Shahid Abbasi-led government had also banned companies and individuals from making donations to the JuD, the FIF and other organisations.

The move comes ahead of the FATF plenary meeting on February 18, where Pakistan is likely to be “grey-listed” ( should be "black listed" instead of "grey listed" . No benefit of doubt should be given !) for terrorist financing and money laundering.

It remains to be seen if the new move saves Pakistan the blushes of being grey-listed again after 2015.

Last month, the government had also banned companies and individuals from making donations to the JuD, the FIF and other organisations. Jundullah was the last organisation declared “proscribed” by the government of Pakistan on January 31, 2018 on the NACTA website. Saeed was released from house arrest last November after a Pakistan court said there was insufficient evidence against him. Saeed has dared the Paki Govt to arrest him !

The government is expected to soon release new estimates of how many poor people there are in Pakistan—but expect a fair amount of debate. The figure is likely to be a national total and not by province as those figures could make some people look bad.

If the government gave numbers by the province, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa might have cause to celebrate. According to initial estimates it may have achieved a significant decline in poverty in the range of 5 to 6 percentage points while all the other provinces may not have shown such marvelous results.

It would be safer to go with a national number otherwise the government may have to justify why poverty did not drop in the double digits during the Pakistan Muslim League-N tenure given the claim that the country achieved a higher growth trajectory. It could find itself facing the question of why this did not translate into poverty reduction.

Controversy

Doing the math on poverty is thus always a political quagmire. The exact number of people living in poverty in Pakistan has, therefore, been a contested figure under both military and democratically elected regimes.

These numbers become controversial because the ruling elite and its policy makers are always loathe to have any data rebut the notion that their economic policies are achieving a trickle-down effect for the poor. The truth is, however, that there is a disconnect between official claims and ground realities. As the saying goes, Islamabad is 20 kilometers away from Pakistan.

As there is usually a disagreement over the exact estimates of people living below the poverty line, to its credit, the Planning Commission asked a committee to calculate the latest figures. This special committee is headed by renowned economist GM Arif who has chaired previous committees on the subject. He was affiliated with the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics and is retired. The committee members include poverty experts and economists such as Dr Idrees, Dr Naeem ul Zafar, Dr Aaliya, Iftikhar Cheema and Dr Nasir. The World Bank is involved in the effort.

GM Arif told TFT that they had already met twice in recent months and were expected to finalize their report within the current fiscal year and before the PML-N government wraps up its tenure. The next meeting will be convened soon. They are working to calculate the latest poverty figures in accordance with the new and old methods in order to ensure consistency. He confirmed that the committee would only come out with national figures.

Pakistan is not unique in such a controversy. It has lingered in India as well. A committee formed in 2012 had calculated poverty at 21% on the basis of Energy Food Intake just as Pakistan did. But then another committee estimated poverty at 29% by changing the method to include other needs. The Indian government had not endorsed any poverty figure since 2012.

Using the old calorie of food, energy intake method meant that only 9.3% of Pakistan was found below the poverty line in 2013-14. This was 17 million people

Old method

Earlier on, in Pakistan poverty was calculated with the help of the CPI or consumer price index. The government collected data on prices from select cities to calculate the cost of calorie intake. It was pegged at Rs1,600 per person cost per month for someone to consume 2,375 calories daily. (During the Musharraf regime, this calorie intake requirement was reduced from 2,375 to 2,175 in order to show a reduction in poverty levels.) The CPI data set does not give a proper picture of the poverty levels of people living in the countryside.

Using the old calorie of food, energy intake method meant that only 9.3% of Pakistan was found below the poverty line in 2013-14. This was 17 million people.

New method

The good news is, however, that the government has changed its method of measuring poverty and economists and experts believe it is closer to assessing the basic needs of the people.

During the tenure of former finance minister Ishaq Dar, the PML-N government changed the method from looking at the food, energy intake to assessing Cost of Basic Needs. This means it is adding expenses on health and education as part poverty calculation.

With the Cost of Basic Needs method, the new poverty line emerges at Rs3,030 per adult per month using the latest Household Income Expenditure Survey of 2013-14.

The government is going to use the latest Household Income Expenditure Survey (HIES) instead of the CPI. For clarity’s sake, one should mention that it has been renamed the HICS (Household Income and Consumption Survey) for 2015-16.

In 2015-16 it was estimated that 29.5% or 55 million people were living below the poverty line. But there is one more thing. The new HICS-based estimates are going to have to also factor in the 2017 census data.

Earlier on, the population total used for poverty estimates was 198 million. But since the new census has revealed Pakistan’s population has grown nine million to 207 million, this new figure has to be used. When you do the math, the number of poor people goes up a commensurate three million from 55 million (2015-16) to 58 million.In other words Terroristan's Poverty increased from 17 Million in 2013-2014 to 58 Million in 58 Million in 2015-2036.This is due to the Brilliance of the Pious, Religious and Pure Islamic Leaders of Terroristan - May Allah Increase their Tribe Manifold! So, as the population increased by nine million and almost 30% of people were earlier estimated to be living below the poverty live, three million more poor people have fallen into the poverty trap.

Interestingly, if we use the new poverty standard and look back at 2001-2002, when the Consumer Price Index method was used, poverty would have actually been 64.3%, or more than double the old rate. It is worth mentioning that the Multidimensional Poverty Index developed by the UNDP and Planning Commission had estimated that the headcount of multidimensional poverty in 2014/15 was 38.8% while the intensity of deprivation was 51%.

The Planning Commission’s committee of experts will have to reconcile the HIES and HICS data because the 2015-16 HICS survey had more questions in order to gather more details from the selected 24,000 households representing all provinces.

The Planning Commission sent out the questionnaire of both HIES/HICS to one international expert on poverty affiliated with the World Bank. He had given his endorsement that the data collected on the HIES/HICS pattern could be reconciled and the upcoming poverty estimation could be declared consistent and in line with international standards. However, the government will have to explain one thing: When the HIES/HICS data represents all provinces why is it reluctant to calculate poverty on provincial levels?

Planning Commission Chief Economist Dr Nadeem Javaid told TFT that the latest poverty estimates would be released within the financial year and would be national with urban and rural divide distinctions. No provincial figures will be released.

A Supreme Court bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar, on Tuesday granted protective bail to former SSP Rao Anwar until February 16.The three-judge bench ordered Anwar to appear in court on February 16. Police officials of Sindh and Islamabad were instructed to provide him security prior to his appearance in front of the court and not to arrest him.

The court ordered the police officials to facilitate his appearance. Rumours are that he is "protected by powerful politicians" !

The decision came after Anwar wrote a letter to the CJP denying all allegations of a fake encounter against him. He stated, in the letter, that he was not present on the spot when Naqeebullah was murdered and is being framed ‘falsely’. Anwar had requested for a new JIT in his letter to the CJP.

Anwar and several members of his team have gone into hiding since the start of a probe into Naqeeb’s killing.On Dec 26, the police claimed they killed two suspected robbers when they were trying to flee after gunning down a passerby – who had resisted their robbery attempt – in Ahsanabad locality of Karachi’s Superhighway area. Pashtuns are noted for "badal" ( ie revenge ) under their code of Pashtunwali, so his "going into hiding" is understandable

01:50 to 02:30 – China will be Terroristan’s Wife, Husband and In-Laws. In addition during the last 70 years, while other nations who got freedom at the same time as Terroristan have entered into their youth, still Terroristan needs to have its hand and led by an Abba!

The tows are sold to Pakistan to balance against the Russian sale of atgms to India.

We use it to destroy Pakistanis bunkers on the loc. The Pakistanis do the same to our bunkers at the loc.

The terrorism angle is a pretext. India knows why the Americans sell f16s to the Pakistanis(ie, to balance against India's jet purchases). But I wonder why indians lodge protests with the Americans regarding this?

I suspect that some filmy type desi diplomat is trying to be oversmart against his American counterpart(a cowboy variety).

The only way to break the american-pakistani balance game is to make the game expensive. The Chinese just gave the jf17 production line to Pakistan for free. Both the US and China find convergence in using Pakistan as a counterweight against India. This is beyond our capacity.

The United States has put forward a motion to place Pakistan on a global terrorist-financing watchlist with an anti-money-laundering monitoring group, according to a senior Pakistani official.

Pakistan has been scrambling in recent months to avert being added to a list of countries deemed non-compliant with terrorist financing regulations by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a measure that officials fear could hurt its economy.

A meeting of FATF member states is due to take place next week in Paris

Pakistan had been on the FATF watchlist from 2012 to 2015.

A senior U.S. official who follows U.S. policy in the region said Pakistan has “always been selective” in cracking down on militants who use its territory as a base.

Pakistani officials and Western diplomats say that being put on the FATF watchlist could deal a blow to Pakistan’s economy as it would make it harder for foreign investors and companies to do business in the nuclear-armed South Asian nation.

“If you’re put on a terror watchlist, you’re made to go through all the (extra) scrutiny”

Ismail said the FATF motion focused on Hafiz Saeed, a Pakistan-based Islamist whom India accuses of masterminding the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people. That suggested the United States had put forward the motion at India’s behest, he said.

Resolution 1267 requires all states to freeze the assets of people and organizations on a list established by the resolution, including Saeed and his “Islamic charities.” Washington has designated Saeed a terrorist.

In December, Pakistan’s government drew up plans to seize control of Saeed’s Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and the Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation charities. Critics say previous such efforts have faded once pressure on Pakistan eased.

Washington and the U.N. say JuD and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation are a front for the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant group, which Saeed founded in 1987.

Pakistan’s de facto finance minister, Miftah Ismail, told Reuters that the United States and Britain put forward the motion several weeks ago, and later persuaded France and Germany to co-sponsor it.

“We are now working with the U.S., UK, Germany and France for the nomination to be withdrawn,” Ismail said, speaking by telephone from Europe. “We are also quite hopeful that even if the U.S. did not withdraw the nomination that we will prevail and not be put on the watchlist.”

Pakistan had been on the FATF watchlist from 2012 to 2015. {got distinction of being called "high risk and non-cooperative." }

Over 190 jurisdictions around the world have committed to the FATF Recommendations through the global network of FSRBs and FATF memberships -- including China, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, intyadi...

^^^ BTW from above ..Terroristan has complained that India is putting unfair pressure on USA .. (as motion focused on Hafiz Suar, a Paki and that is the proof per Pakis that the United States had put forward the motion at India’s behest..

.. A spokesperson at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad said the United States was “absolutely not” acting on behalf of India.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - The United States has put forward a motion to place Pakistan on a global terrorist-financing watchlist with an anti-money-laundering monitoring group, according to a senior Pakistani official.

Pakistan has been scrambling in recent months to avert being added to a list of countries deemed non-compliant with terrorist financing regulations by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a measure that officials fear could hurt its economy. Pakistan will be in the august company of NOKO and Iran in due time

The United States has been threatening to get tough with Islamabad over its alleged ties with Islamist militants, and last month President Donald Trump’s administration suspended aid worth about $2 billion. Islamabad, which denies assisting militants in Afghanistan and India, has reacted angrily to U.S. threats of further punitive measures.

A meeting of FATF member states is due to take place next week in Paris, where the organization could adopt the motion on Pakistan. The FATF, an intergovernmental body based in Paris, sets global standards for fighting illicit finance.Pakistan’s de facto finance minister, Miftah Ismail, told Reuters that the United States and Britain put forward the motion several weeks ago, and later persuaded France and Germany to co-sponsor it. “We are now working with the U.S., UK, Germany and France for the nomination to be withdrawn,” Ismail said, speaking by telephone from Europe. “We are also quite hopeful that even if the U.S. did not withdraw the nomination that we will prevail and not be put on the watchlist.” Indian diplomats should do the "needful" to counter Paki efforts to save them from the gallows

Pakistan had been on the FATF watchlist from 2012 to 2015. A senior U.S. official who follows U.S. policy in the region said Pakistan has “always been selective” in cracking down on militants who use its territory as a base. Present POTUS does not "buy" Paki BS !

On Monday, Pakistan announced it had amended its anti-terrorism law to ban militant groups and organizations that are listed as “terrorists” by the United Nations, a move seen to be targeting those charities. Pakistan’s attorney general, Ashtar Ausaf, told Reuters the law changes approved by the country’s president were meant to reflect obligations under the U.N. Security Council charter. “We have to march with the changing times,” Ausaf said, adding that the new laws would enable the government to track fundraising activities of all the U.N.-proscribed groups and take punitive action such as freezing their assets. This type of window dressing has been done in the past as well !

In December, Pakistan’s government drew up plans to seize control of Saeed’s Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and the Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation charities. Critics say previous such efforts have faded once pressure on Pakistan eased.

He added that moves to put Islamabad on the FATF watchlist were counter-productive when Pakistan was already undergoing “mutual evaluation” by experts from other countries, who are measuring progress in curbing illicit fund flows.“It’s a very intrusive process and...we are happy to work with them, but while we are being given mutual evaluation, it makes no sense for us to be now put on the watchlist,” Ismail said.

Even an average joe can see that India is building and strengthening it's relations with the middle eastern Arab countries whereas Pakistan isn't doing jacks#it about it. Ever since 2015, When Pakistan refused to deploy troops in Yemen, India took the opportunity and is gaining more and more ground in those countries. Examples from past couple of days, Indian Pavilion in Saudi Arabia's largest cultural festival in Riyadh. Modi on state visit to UAE, and now Oman and got military base set there. He also visited Jordan and Palestine. While our leaders are busy with infighting and election season, we are losing ground in Middle East. That could have serious economic and strategic repercussions for Pakistan.We have let go of everything else and are apparently only focusing on CPEC. Putting our eggs in one basket would be futile decision. Foreign office is mature enough to know that.

PS: "Forgot" to mention Saudi permission given to Air India to fly over Saudi territory enroute to "enemy" Israel

What an insidious agreement and that too one seen as the pinnacle of achievement for a very very mediocre Indian politician, and a two faced international double dealing rogue, an agreement entered into by two jokers who were not even born in the countries that they profess allegiance to.

No wonder the paki musharaff was desperately running, first behind ABV, and then behind his less than mediocre successor, trying to get his OK for a one sided deal that would have sunk India and caused widespread rioting here resulting in the fall of the incumbent govt.

Borders being made irrelevant or simply brains being made irrelevant is the actual question to be asked of the great sardar??

Those Asking For ‘Dialogue With Pakistan’ Better Read This First

by Raghav Awasthi, Feb 13, 2018,

SnapshotLet us talk to the silent majority of the Kashmir Valley who would still be receptive to the idea of India, and until then, talks of ‘dialogue with Pakistan’ ought to be dismissed summarily.

The history of the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry can be traced back to the Pakistani invasion of Kashmir in the winter of 1947. In the face of a determined onslaught by the ostensibly ‘tribal’ invaders, the people of the Kashmir Valley organised themselves into militias in order to mount what was ultimately to be an eminently successful resistance. The birth of these militias was midwifed by cadres of the National Conference, including but not limited to the redoubtable Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed, who later went on to serve as the prime minister of Kashmir after Sheikh Abdullah was deposed following the Kashmir conspiracy case of 1953.

The said militias were initially deployed as a paramilitary force on the Line of Control or LoC (then known as the Ceasefire Line) before they were promoted to the status of a full regiment of the Indian Army in 1976. Like most other regiments of the Indian Army, it draws its rank and file from fixed ethnicities. Almost 50 per cent of its personnel are recruited from amongst the Muslim populace of the Kashmir Valley, while the rest are drawn from the other ethnic groups of the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Sujuwan Army camp, which came under attack by the Pakistan-based terror outfit-the Jaish-e-Mohammed, on 10 February 2018, was being occupied by personnel of the regiment and their families at the relevant time. The details of the attack and whether it could be prevented with better preparation and intelligence gathering, need not concern us at the moment and an analysis of the same is best left to defence experts. Having said that, the attack is merely a link in the larger chain of events whereby ethnic Kashmiri Muslims who have chosen to serve their country thereby refusing to act as foot-soldiers for Pakistan’s jihad project, have been targeted. The lynchings of Lt Umer Fayyaz (March 2017) and Ayub Pandith (July 2017) are cases in point and are still relatively fresh in public memory.

The worrying part here though is not that these attacks are taking place. The same are to be expected for the simple reason that since Narendra Modi’s ascent to power in 2014 and Ram Madhav’s appointment as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) general secretary in charge of Kashmir and North East affairs, a concerted policy of elimination of high profile militant targets like Burhan Wani has been adopted and effectuated with more than a fair measure of success. As a matter of fact, what should concern us is that no less a personage than the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir is making noises about how talks with Pakistan are the only solution to the problem. A visitor from Mars who has but a passing acquaintance with the Indian Constitution and the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir as well as the Instrument of Accession would be tempted to ask as to what the ‘talks’ are going to achieve and whether after 70 years of talks, India and Pakistan have ever come close to agreeing upon a working solution to the problem, even in theory, leaving aside the question of implementation.

The answer to this question is likely to differ depending upon who it is put to. The average ‘nationalist’ who is likely to be labelled as ‘communal’ would tell you that there is absolutely no point in talking peace with Pakistan given their perfidious record. The garden variety bleeding heart would tell you that the Kashmiris should be given aazaadi. As a matter of fact, a prominent columnist and editor went so far as to advocate secession for Kashmir in 2008 inter alia because India need not concern itself with a region which was not even half as populous as the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

Ostensibly, enlightened travellers on the strategic and Track II circuit from both India and Pakistan would tell you that the solution lies in the ‘Four Point Formula’ that was agreed upon between then Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh and the Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf before the latter was deposed in December 2007. Both, the former Indian premier and the Pakistani military dictator later went on record to state that the formula had been agreed upon in principle at the highest level and it was only the modalities that were left to be worked out before the Lawyers’ Agitation in the winter of 2007 unseated Musharraf. Sanjaya Baru-the former editor of the Financial Express who served as the media advisor to Dr Manmohan Singh during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) I years, has also attested to the veracity of the assertion in his book The Accidental Prime Minister. He has also gone on record to say that if ever the Kashmir dispute is to be resolved, the template has to be the aforementioned formula. Similar claims have been made by Khurshid Ahmed Kasuri in 2015 in the run up to the launch of his memoirs titled Neither a Hawk or a Dove.

However, in the opinion of the author, the fact of the matter is that if the Four Point Formula, which is something that is bandied about as a concrete outcome of talks in the past, was actually ever acted upon, it would have been a recipe for disaster with respect to India. As for Pakistan, it would merely have been a first in a series of salami tactics that they would have then surely employed in order to sever Kashmir from India. As far as the brave sons and daughters of Jammu and Kashmir who are serving in the Indian security forces and have been targeted in a series of dastardly terrorist attacks of late are concerned, the same would have amounted to nothing less than a shameless sellout. The devil-so to speak-lies in the details!

The Four Point Formula is as follows:

1. Demilitarisation or phased withdrawal of troops2. There will be no change to the borders. However, people of Jammu & Kashmir will be allowed to move freely across the Line of Control.3. Self-governance without independence4. A joint supervision mechanism in Jammu and Kashmir involving India, Pakistan and KashmirIn the subsequent paragraphs, we shall try and show as to how each and every one of these clauses is a recipe for unqualified disaster and from an Indian point of view, these points could have only been agreed upon by a dispensation that did not have the best interests of the country at heart.

1. Demilitarisation or phased withdrawal of troops: Although this sounds fine in principle, it does not take into account the possibility that in a situation where India scales down its military presence in the Valley, the local administration might be rendered sitting ducks in a situation where militants with the tacit and surreptitious backing of the Pakistani establishment foment trouble. The law enforcement machinery in such a case would be unable to take the action required to bring an expedient situation under control without the assistance of the military and the para military apparatus. Also, it would effectively imply that illegal arms and ammunition would be allowed to flow into Kashmir unabated.

2. Open borders: The second ‘point’ in this Four Point Formula is also as unsustainable and disastrous as the first ‘point’. If there is free movement of people and goods across the LoC then again it would be problematic for India. It is tough for us even now to prevent young Kashmiris from going across the border where they are brainwashed by radical Islamist propaganda. The formula itself does not enjoin any legally binding obligations upon Pakistan to ensure that the aforementioned propaganda is not disseminated in madrassas across the LoC. In this view of the matter, it is difficult to appreciate how this point would be in our interest.

3. Self-governance without independence: Like the other two points, this sounds quite enticing at first blush. However, it would decidedly fall afoul of the principles enshrined under the Basic Structure doctrine of the Indian Constitution. Also, unlike the other two points, the contours of this provision are quite nebulous. It could mean either a reversion to the 1951 position whereby apart from foreign affairs, defence and telecommunications, the writ of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly reigned supreme over even other matters specified under the Union and Concurrent List of the Seventh Schedule. Equally, it could also mean a new normal which has been described by Mehbooba Mufti of the Peoples Democratic Party as ‘self rule’. Having said all of this, the question that we need to somewhere ask is if it is prudent on our part to allow Islamists, like Akbar Lone (An MLA and a member of the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference) who recently stated on the floor of the assembly that he found the slogan of ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ unpalatable, as he was a ‘Muslim’ first, to take charge of the affairs of Jammu and Kashmir, which in turn have ramifications that transcend the borders of the state itself. Does this not sound suspiciously like allowing the lunatics to take charge of the asylum? We also need to keep in mind that even mainstream politicians of the Kashmir Valley have in the past shown a propensity towards Islamism and thinly veiled majoritarian bigotry. Former governor Jagmohan has quite eloquently described a few of these instances where anti-Hindu bigotry was allowed a free run on the floor of the House in his account of his tenure as the governor of Jammu and Kashmir.

4. The Joint Supervision Mechanism again is constitutionally unsustainable for no other reason but the vastly divergent provisions in the respective constitutions of India and Pakistan. The Constitution of India envisages no such joint governance mechanism with any neighbouring country. It very clearly states that sovereign powers are vested in the people of India who have agreed to abide by the said Constitution. Various entries qua which the state and central government can respectively makes laws have been enumerated in the State List, Union List and the Concurrent List in the Seventh Schedule. There is absolutely no provision for the sharing of these sovereign powers to make laws and to implement the same with Pakistan. If this point were to be implemented, it would require an amendment to the Constitution. Now, the Parliament’s power to amend the Constitution is not at all unbridled and is subject to the judicial discipline of being tested on the touchstone of the doctrine of Basic Structure. It is extremely unlikely, if not impossible for this last point to be implemented as well.

To conclude, it may be fairly stated that ‘talks’ to solve the Kashmir dispute with Pakistan have miserably failed in the past. The crowning achievement of these 70 years of needless discussion with a rogue Islamist neighbour is a constitutionally untenable Four Point Formula that is not only thoroughly inimical to India’s interests but also something that has been rejected by the separatist lobby in the Valley.

To somehow assume that just because talks are taking place, there would be a cessation of violence sounds quite suspiciously like the doctrine of appeasement adopted by the much reviled Right Honourable Neville Chamberlain who was the prime minister of Great Britain around the time Hitler embarked upon his ascent to power. Furthermore, by initiating talks with the Pakistani Establishment, when they are trying to shore up their flagging popularity by hitting us through these terrorist attacks, we would be betraying the memories of the brave Kashmiri men and women, including but not limited to the martyrs of the Sujuwan attack, who have sacrificed their lives for the sake of the founding principles of our country enshrined in our Constitution.

The only manner in which they can be honoured is if we assiduously cultivate and expand the pro-India constituency by directly talking to our people in the Valley. Even if we must have local interlocutors, they need not necessarily be drawn from the ranks of the mainstream parties. There are many common people, verily the silent majority of the Kashmir Valley, especially in the smaller towns and villages who would still be receptive to the idea of India given that many of their compatriots continue to risk their lives for the same. Let us speak to them and until then, talks of ‘dialogue with Pakistan’ ought to be dismissed summarily.

Sajna was an important TTP figure. Let us recall the history involving him.

Pakistan had a stroke of luck when the CIA-operated drones killed Baitullah Mehsud on Aug. 5, 2009 at his father-in-law’s house in Zangara village in South Waziristan. Waliur Rehman, a cousin of the slain Baitullah Mehsud and a contender for the TTP Chief’s post, was instead appointed as the South Waziristan Taliban commander and a TTP Deputy Commander. Wali-ur-Rehman was the planner for Marriott Hotel bombing and also Camp Chapman attack in Khost. Wali-ur-Rehman was eventually killed in May 2013 in a CIA drone attack and Khan Said Sajna (aka Sajna or Sajna Mehsud or Khaled Mehsud) was appointed in his place. Wali-ur-Rehman was close to the Haqqanis and had been a junior-level local leader for Maulana Fazlur Rahman’s Jamiat-i-Ulama-i-Islam-Fazlur (JUI-F). See all the intricate linkages.

After Baitullah Mehsud's killing, Hakeemullah Mehsud took over TTP as its Emir. Within six months after Wali-ur-Rehman's killing, Hakeemullah Mehsud was also killed in a CIA drone attack in November, 2013. Fazlullah of Swat was proclaimed as the new TTP Emir after much confusion. Sajna, who had taken over Wali-ur-Rehman’s position as Commander of South Waziristani Taliban after his death, expected to be appointed as the Emir of TTP after Hakimullah’s death.

Fazlullah's appointment split the TTP, also helped by the ISI which also wanted to weaken the same. Firstly, the Emir of the South Waziristan chapter of TTP, Sajna, was expelled from the TTP in May 2014. He formed a group called Hulqa-e-Mehsud-TTP. The expulsion was because of internecine clashes between Sajna and Sheheryar Mehsud who, though from the same tribe in South Waziristan, owed allegiance to Fazlullah, over leadership of the South Waziristan chapter of the TTP. Sajna is a keen follower of JUI-F Chief Fazl-ur-Rehman. He owed allegiance to Mullah Omar. After dismissing Khan Said Sajna, Fazlullah handed over both NWA & SWA commandership to Omar Khalid Khurasani (aka Abdul Wali), the chief of TTP’s Mohmand chapter.

Sajna was the planner for the Taliban attack on PNS Mehran naval airbase, Karachi in c. 2011. Later, in April 2012, he also planned a jailbreak in Bannu when 400 Taliban prisoners, including 20 ‘very dangerous’ prisoners, were released and taken away. That included Adnan Rashid, who was on death row for his involvement in an assassination attempt against former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.

However, when the Pakistani Army launched Zerb-e-Azb in c. 2014, the two factions of Sajna & Khurasani merged together. jointly conducted an operation on two Quetta airbases, Samungali and Khalid between the tights of August 14 and 15 (Pakistan’s Independence Day), 2014. A joint statement was issued by both groups. The PA/ISI made strenuous but unsuccessful efforts to convert the Sajna group as ‘good Taliban’. The idea was that though Khan Said Sajna had mounted the PNS Mehran attack and then the Bannu jail break in c. 2011, he had not attacked the Pakistani Army or the State after that and was instead collaborating with Haqqani (Sajna’s mentor Wali-ur-Rehman was close to the Haqqanis) and targetting Afghanistan. In May 2014, a spokesman for Khan Said’s group, Azam Tariq, said that “we consider the bombing of public places, extortion and kidnapping un-Islamic”. This was followed by the early June, 2014 Karachi airport attack and was a reminder by the TTP that the splits have not weakened the lethality of the group.

Pakistani police have arrested four people accused of stealing spinal fluid from women.The suspects told women they had to provide blood samples to qualify for financial assistance from the Punjab government, police told BBC Urdu.However, they extracted spinal fluid instead, and attempted to sell it on the black market, police added.

The gang is thought to have stolen spinal fluid from over 12 women, including a teenager.

The authorities became aware of the scheme after a man noticed that his 17-year-old daughter felt weak after the procedure.

"It appears the gang has been active in the Hafizabad area for some time," regional police officer Ashfaq Ahmed Khan told BBC Urdu's Shahzad Malik.One member "went around posing as an employee of the District Headquarters Hospital, telling his victims they would need to provide blood samples in order to qualify for the Punjab government's dowry fund".

"But instead of taking them to the hospital to obtain their 'blood samples', he would take them to the house of a female member of the gang to perform the procedure," Mr Khan added.

Our Government should provide 800% diplomatic and moral support to support this dream of Afghanistan to liberate Pathan’s aka Pushtun’s suffering under the oppression of the Uniformed Jihadi’s of Punjabi Military dominated Deep State of the Mohammadden Terrorism Fomenting Islamic Republic of Pakistan in FATA, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

……………. it would be in the best interest of the United States, NATO and Afghanistan to redraw the Durand Line.

The Afghan government never has accepted the Durand Line as a true international border. The government and people of Afghanistan have consistently asked for the territory to be re-incorporated into Afghanistan. People who live along the Durand Line don’t consider it to be a border. They cross the border freely and, in many places, the line is unclear. Pashtun inhabitants along the line take pride in asserting their autonomy and proudly assert that their Pashtunwali traditions and tribal codes of conduct supersede the Pakistani laws and courts.

Redrawing the line, to merge FATA, Pakhtunkhwa and parts of Balochistan into Afghanistan could help to end the blood spilled in this region. This would eliminate the safe-haven status of the region for terrorists by bringing the lawless territory under the control of Afghanistan, where U.S. forces are operating. Eliminating the arbitrary, artificial border would be a great legacy for the United States and international community — winning over the hearts and minds of the region’s inhabitants by bringing together people who were forcefully divided more than a century ago. …………

Pakistan is pushing for the completion of a fence along its disputed border with Afghanistan — and it wants the U.S. to help pay for it. Less than 10 per cent of the fence planned along the 2,343 kilometres of mountainous border with Afghanistan has been completed so far due to financial constraints. Even so, Pakistan Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said the barrier should be finished by the end of 2019. “It won’t cost them much,” Asif said of the U.S. in an interview on Feb. 2 in Islamabad. “The war is costing them much more.” It is a well known fact in Pakiland , that Asif is suffering from "Foot in Mouth" disease

Keeping in mind the plea of Afghan diplomat Ahmad Shah Katawazai which calls for “Redrawing the {Durand} line, to merge FATA, Pakhtunkhwa and parts of Balochistan into Afghanistan” (See Previous Post), US should fund a fence to keep the Uniformed Jihadi’s of the Punjabi Military dominated Deep State of the Mohammadden Terrorism Fomenting Islamic Republic of Pakistan out of FATA, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

A Pakistani spokesman says the first woman from the country’s minority Hindu community is poised to become lawmaker next month after the country’s Opposition party nominated her for the Senate’s upcoming elections.

Nasir Shah, the spokesman in the provincial government of Sindh Province, says the Opposition Pakistan People’s Party has asked all of its lawmakers to vote for Krishna Kumari in the March 3 elections for the Upper House of Parliament. {Would be interesting to see how many of them actually vote}

Mr. Shah said on Monday that Ms. Kumari will be the first female Hindu lawmaker in Pakistan since 1947, when Pakistan gained independence from Britain.

Ms. Kumari says she is overjoyed with the news and that because her family was so poor, she never dared to dream of becoming a lawmaker.

Pakistani parties usually nominate wealthy or influential people for the Senate.

Ms. Krishna Kumari may be counting her chickens too soon . Now that Mani Shanker Aiyer is no longer a law maker in India, stands suspended from the dynastic Nehru-Gandhi family led Congress Party and is making all the right sounds in the Mohammadden Terrorism Fomenting Islamic Republic of Pakistan, see article below, it is only a matter of time before the Uniformed Jihadi’s of the Punjabi Military dominated Deep State of the Mohammadden Terrorism Fomenting Islamic Republic of Pakistan direct their civilian underlings to parachute him into the Islamic Republic’s legislature .